Universe Made up for One
by BlackRaven
Summary: The search for earth continues but the path is long and twisted.will the five show them the way?or will both earth and the colonials finally fall to the cylons?starts from CP1 and goes AU from there with spoilers for CP2! EnsambleOC NEW CHAP 10 IS UP!
1. Contact

Author's note:

This story started forming in my head before I saw the last episode of season 3 and after watching that episode the desire to write this story became even stronger. Now don't get me wrong - I love the idea of Kara coming back and I would be very angry if they wouldn't have brought her back from the dead - but I'm really not satisfied with the idea of the 4 new cylons that they revealed in the last episode.

My problem - and I am fully aware that I'm overthinking this and obsessing on this subject - is that for me it doesn't make any sense. I could have handled Tigh being a cylon, even Anders and Tory I can buy although I'm kind of pissed that they gave such a minor character that we knw nothing about such as Tory such an important role - but my problem is with the Chief - because if he is a cylon then his child with Cally is also half cylon - just like Hera - and since all this time we have only heard talk of one half human half cylon child - I'm having a hard time buying it. Or maybe it's just the fact that I love the characters of Anders, Tigh and Tyrol so much (I'm kind of indifferent towards Tory) that I just can't accept them as cylons.

Anyway - this story starts right after crossroads part 1 and will have spoilers for several scenes from crossroads part 2 but it will me my take on the episode and will go complete AU from there.

Enjoy

Oh and as you probably guessed - I don't own them, don't know the ones who do and have no money anyway - so please don't sue.

* * *

Sam lay in his bunk and tried to get to sleep. He just finished 6 hours of nugget training and her was dead on his feet. Kara used to tell him how hard it was - the training all viper and raptor pilots had to go through - but he never figured it would be that taxing. Thinking of Kara made his heart clench and he knew that if he kept up with that line of thought - he could forget about sleeping at all. He turned in his bunk again and cleared his head - trying to conjure up basic flight manuals thinking that would surely put him to sleep in a matter of minutes.

That's when he heard it again - that tune. It was faint, like it came from somewhere far away.

He pulled open the curtain to his bunk and stuck out his head - ready to give a tongue lashing to who ever was playing it while others tried to sleep. Only the room was completely empty. He debated trying to sleep in spite of it - but for some reason he had a feeling it was important that he found out where it came from.

He got to his feet and started heading towards the sound.

* * *

Colonel Tigh pressed his ear against the bulkhead. He was drunk - but then, he was always drunk these days. At first he tried ignoring the music, thinking it was just another one of his drunken hallucinations. But no hallucination was that persistent. He kept hearing the music everywhere. It was faint, and no one around him seemed to pick up on it - but he knew it was there. Even through his drunken stupor he could somehow sense that it was real.

With his ear still pressed against the bulkhead, he started making his way through the corridors - following the tune.

* * *

Tory walked through the corridors of galactica slowly. She didn't know the ship well - most times when she came on board with the president her activities were contained mainly around CIC, the briefing room and the Admiral's quarters. She had never even seen more that half the decks and corridors on this ship. But for some reason, she knew exactly where she was going. It was like her legs had a mind of their own. People walked by her but she didn't really notice them. She kept walking, walking and humming. The simple melody simply refused to leave her mind. It was playing in her head over and over again, and the sound of it seemed to get louder the closer she got to her destination.

* * *

He knew he should be somewhere else. He had work to do - hell, even when it wasn't his shift he had work to do - there was always work to do. He was the chief after all. And when he had some time off he usually spent that time with Nicholas. With his and Cally both working so hard and such long hours - he made it a point to spend as much time as he can with his son. Never the less, here he was, standing idly in an empty storage room just off the lower deck - pacing the length of the room and humming to himself that frakking tune that sounded so familiar and yet completely foreign at the same time. He knew he should get going, people will start missing him soon, he was probably needed somewhere else - but for some reason he felt like he had to wait. Something was coming and he needed to be there for it.

* * *

Helo made his way to CIC with a cup of what passed as coffee in mess hall these days in one of his hands and a stack of reports in the other. He was so engrossed in the report he was currently going over that he barely managed to avoid running straight into petty officer Duella as she made her way out, having just completed her own shift. He started to apologize but she just gave him a nasty glare and roughly brushed past him, making his polite apology catch in his throat.

He sighed as he looked after her retreating form. Things have been tense around Galactica in the past few weeks. News of Major Adama, the former CAG, leaving the fleet and joining Baltar's defense team of all things, had hit everyone hard. The rift between the Apollo and his father, Galactica's beloved commander, was making everyone feel twitchy and on edge.

The scuttlebutt on the ship was working overtime and one of the most agreed upon theories seemed to be that the sudden death of Starbuck had finally sent Apollo over the edge. Needless to say this particular theory didn't sit well with Apollo's newly estranged wife. Dee had grown quiet and resentful as time went by and being one of Starbuck's closest friends seemed to make Helo one of her least favorite people these days.

"_How very like you Starbuck" _Helo thought to himself sadly _"Causing trouble even after you're gone"_

For a moment he allowed the grief over his friend to wash over him. Even after 2 months the pain was still so fresh. But the moment passed quickly. He had no time to dwell on his pain right now - maybe later tonight, when he's back in his quarters with Athena's arms wrapped around him he would be able to let the pain take over him - but right now he had a job to do.

With a deep breath to clear his head he passed the threshold to CIC and took over the com. The first few hours of the shift went by smoothly and quietly. He even managed to catch up on some paperwork.

Suddenly, everything changed.

"DRADIS contact" Lt. Gaeta's voice came out loud and clear over the quietness of the CIC "Single contact. Looks like a heavy raider bearing 1-2-0"

"Sound the alarm!" Helo jumped to his feet "Put the fleet on alert condition 1. Prepare to launch the alert fighters and radio the civilian fleet to start prepping for emergency FTL jump"

"What's going on?" Admiral Adama stepped into CIC, his gruff voice was like music to Helo's ears.

"We have single DRADIS contact, looks like a heavy raider on a lone reconnaissance mission" Helo informed him

"Hold on a moment Sir" Lt Gaeta's voice sounded confused "I'm suddenly getting a colonial signal"

"Verify that" The Admiral frowned. The last time they located a colonial signal it had been the Pegasus, and that turned out to be a complete disaster. He wondered what new problems they would encounter this time around.

A tense moment passed. When Gaeta spoke again, his voice sounded even more confused "Colonial identification code confirmed Sir"

"And!?" Adama gave Lt. Gaeta a pointed look, sensing there was more.

Gaeta swallowed hard and turned in his chair to face the Admiral, feeling unsure of himself even as the words came out of his mouth "The identification code belongs to Captain Kara Thrace Sir. It's Starbuck!"


	2. Revelations

Chapter 2

For a long time none of them spoke, instead they just circled each other, like animals in a cage sizing each other up, wondering about the other's intentions.

"This is just weird" Tory Foster was the first to break the silence, looking between the 3 men in the room with her "I don't know what I'm doing here… it was just that music…"

She suddenly started humming the tune, the one that had been haunting her for days – but the shocked look on the faces of the others made her stop abruptly.

"This can't be happening" Tigh mumbled "30 years in the service, two wars, New caprice, sitting in that cell, Ellen – not after all that…"

"no" Anders agreed "not after Caprica and the resistance…"

"It's true" Tyrol spoke suddenly' cutting Anders off, his voice sounded too calm even to him. He wondered for a moment why he was still so calm, why he wasn't freaking out like the others "We're cylons – I can feel it, it's like we're different… it's like someone lifted the switch"

The others didn't need to say anything and none of them even bothered trying to argue anymore – they all felt it, they knew it was true.

That's when the sirens began sounding and the ship was called to battle station and alert condition one.

Without a word – they hurried to their posts.

* * *

"Repeat that again?" Admiral Adama practically ran over to Lt. Gaeta's station, looking over his shoulder at the DRADIS screen as if the single blip on the monitor could provide him answers for the million questions that were rushing through his mind.

"I can't explain it Sir" Gaeta stammered "The codes match."

"Can you open up a com channel?" The Admiral didn't even bother trying to hide the eagerness in his voice

As Gaeta nodded and rushed over to another station to make the necessary adjustment, the Admiral and Helo exchanged a meaningful look. For the first time in weeks Helo recognized hope shining in the old man's eyes.

When Gaeta finally gave them the signal the admiral took a deep breath to steady himself before speaking into the com device in his hand "This is Galactica actual calling on colonial identified vessel … please respond" After a moment he added "Starbuck is that you?"

For a moment all they could hear was static. Helo was about to turn to Gaeta and ask what was wrong with the connection when a voice sounded and his heart sank to the pits of his stomach.

"Galactica, this is Messenger one responding"

The voice was female - but it was not Kara, Helo would have recognized Kara's voice anywhere and this wasn't it. Throwing a glance over at the Admiral he knew that the Admiral realized it too and that in the course of a passing second all his hopes had been shattered.

"Galactica actual, I repeat this is Messenger one, I'm a friendly." The female voice continued "Requesting permission to come aboard"

"Messenger one, this is Galactica actual" Helo stepped in and responded, sensing that the old man might need a few minutes to compose himself "How did you get your colonial identification codes?"

"Simple" The voice on the other end sounded amused "Kara gave them to me?"

"Lt. Thrace is dead!" The Admiral said forcefully through gritted teeth. He allowed himself to be overtaken by hope and emotion before - he was not prepared to make the same mistake again. He would not allow himself to feel that hope again only to have it squashed seconds later. "This is a cylon trick! Tell me why you shouldn't just blow you away right now?"

"You're only part right Admiral" The voice again sounded amused "Yes, I am a cylon. As for Kara being dead - not so much. And you shouldn't blow me away because then you won't be able to hear the message I have for you"

Admiral Adama hesitated for a moment. Every logical part of him was screaming at him that this wasn't possible, that it was a cylon trick, that his daughter couldn't be alive, but in spite of him, his heart was still clinging to that glimmer of hope. From the other side of the room Helo informed him that the alert fighters have been launched and were closing in on the location of the heavy raider. He closed his eyes tightly - searching for the right decision. It was the next words that were heard over the com link that caused his eyes to fly open and sent chills down his spine.

"What do you hear Admiral?" The voice on the other end sounded soft and even sad.

It took him a second to respond, the old line rolling of his tongue out of pure habit before he could stop it "Nothing but the rain"

"Then grab your gun and bring in the cat - there's a storm coming"

In that moment the Admiral made his decision.

* * *

Lee Adama walked down the corridor, his head buried in the book in his hand. He was just coming back from yet another agonizingly long meeting with Baltar and Lampkin and still he had a ton of work ahead of him. Having never been trained as lawyer, it took more hard work that he would have ever imagined just to try and keep up with all the legal talk around him.

He took his eyes off the book for a second to check the corridor ahead of him and make sure that he wasn't about to crash into someone. With his nose out of the book he suddenly noticed the activity around him – and there was plenty of it. People were walking around him with renewed spirit, talking to each other in hushed and excited whispers.

When Racetrack passed by him, amidst an animated conversation with another pilot, his curiosity finally got the better of him and stopped her to ask what the frak was going on.

"A cylon just came on board Sir" she said hurriedly, her excitement causing her to forget that she didn't need to refer to him a "sir" anymore "And she says she knows Starbuck"

"You mean she** _knew_** Starbuck" he corrected, he pangs of pain clutching at his chest even as he said these few simple words.

"No! The cylon says she's still alive! They say Starbuck's alive!"

Racetrack kept on talking but Lee didn't hear anything anymore. He felt as if he'd been punched in the gut, like all the air left his body at once. His feet started moving on their own accord. He had no idea of his destination but he wasn't surprised when he found himself in the corridor leading to the special sell that used to be Athena's. He knew that's where they would have taken the cylon, he knew that's where his father would be – and he knew that's where he had to wait – he'd wait the whole day if he had to. It was the only way he'd ever find out what was going on.

* * *

**A/N**

Well I hope you like this chapter. It's going to pick up the pace as this story goes along but don't expect for Starbuck to appear just yet – I'm going to build up to that moment gradually.

Noneofyourbusiness – thanks for you review. I know that these four are going to be cylons – I'm still not 100 happy with the choice but I'm going to reserve judgment and wait to see how the show is going to deal with it in the next season. In the meanwhile – that's the beauty of fanfiction – I don't have to remain within the boundaries of the show – I can go with the story to wherever I want and change things that I don't necessarily like.

Jayblue00 – thanks for reviewing – I know all the logical reasons why its possible that these four are cylons – doesn't mean I have to like it! And I know what you mean about Tigh – He's a drunk SOB, but I love him too…

Gibgirl4, anyareed, pilotlover and archive – I'm glad you liked it and took the time to review and don't worry – at this moment I already have the next 5 chapters already written so this story isn't going to stop anytime soon!


	3. History

First of all: thank you very mich to everyone who sent a review, I'm really glad you liked the begining of this story and hopefully I can live up to your expectations. The last two chapters, this chapter, and probably the next one too are a sort of ground work - explaining alll the whos and whats before the real search begins. I hope you like where I'm going with this!

As always - reviews are not only welcome - they are a must - and I'm not above begging!!! So is critic!

oh, and of course - I don't own them, I'm just leasing... don't sue!

* * *

Chapter 3

* * *

The Admiral took a moment to look through the small window at the woman sitting at the table of the interrogation room. She was young and tall with a slender figure, her skin was a dark olive shade and her long hair was damp and clinging to her scalp from the sweat caused by wearing her flight helmet in the cockpit. Her hands and feet were bound and shackled to the chair she was occupying and wearing the collar reserved for cylon prisoners.

She allowed herself to be escorted to the hanger bay by the alert fighters, she surrendered herself quietly to the marines who were waiting for her on the deck and allowed herself to be escorted to the interrogation room without saying a word and without making any threatening moves.

"What do you think?" He turned to Helo

"If she's a cylon, and she says she is, we've never encountered her model before"

The Admiral turned to the other Agathon standing in the hall with them.

"Sir, I've never seen this model before either" Athena shook her head "If she's a cylon…"

"Then what?"

"Then she might be one of the five" Athena'a voice held a tinge of excitement "The five other cylon models. The ones on one has ever seen!"

"Only one way of finding out" Adama mumbled and headed towards the door "Athena, come with me!"

* * *

Lee didn't really know where he was going at least he didn't remember making any conscious decision about where to go. His feet just seemed to be carrying him to a certain destination. He found himself at the end of the corridor leading to the interrogation room - and it seemed like he wasn't the only one. 

Several people were gathered outside the interrogation room. Apparently, word of the cylon claiming that Starbuck was alive had spread throughout the ship quickly. Helo was there, leaning against the bulkhead and peering through the small window in the hatch. The others were more discreet - Tyrol and Seelix were leaning against the opposite bulkhead engaged in a deep conversation, Hotdog and another pilot who was one Kara's second crop of nuggets were a few feet down the hall. Several others were pretending that they had something important to do at this specific corridor at this exact moment. He stayed in his spot at the end of the corridor - watching them but not coming any closer. He didn't want to have to talk to anyone, he didn't want to suffer through the looks of sympathy and sadness. He just wanted to find answers - answers he knew none of the people standing outside in the hall could provide him with.

* * *

As soon as they walked into the interrogation room the woman chained to the chair smiled broadly. When she saw Athena her eyes sparkled with excitement. 

"Eight!" she exclaimed "Oh, wait. You have a name - Athena isn't it?"

Trying to hide her confusion that this stranger knew her call-sign, Athena charged in with a question "What model are you? What number?"

"Actually I don't go by a number anymore. I have a name now!" The pride in her voice was like that of a child showing off his new toy "My name is Casey! Do you like it? Kara gave it to me!"

Admiral Adama felt his chest constrict as he heard the name. He remembered the little girl, the one the cylons made Kara believe was her daughter. He quickly collected himself though and sat down in front of the woman.

"I don't know how you got all your information but Kara Thrace is dead, she's been dead for two months and no lie you tell me is going to make me believe you"

"Kara is alive Admiral, she's been with us for the past two months. She's been fulfilling her destiny"

"And what might that destiny be?" Adama couldn't keep the sarcastic tone out of his voice. He'd had just about as much as he could take with all that destiny crap.

"Kara's destiny?" Casey's voice was dead serious "It's finding earth"

* * *

"All right Casey" Adama sighed, trying to ignore the pit in this stomach "You have my attention. Tell me everything, and start at the beginning" 

"Well, the beginning was a long time ago. I can't tell you all of it - and not all of it is relevant. What I can tell you is that a long time ago there were 12 cylon human models created. We considered ourselves children of humanity but humanity washed it's hands of us and left us alone. Children deal with desertion in different ways. Seven of us became angry and obsessed with revenge. They began to believe that they were the chosen ones, that god had selected them to carry out his revenge. And then there were the five of us - we didn't share their wrath or their religious obsession. Instead, we embraced what we perceived as our freedom. We started traveling the universe, searching - we didn't even know what we were searching for at first, we didn't know until we found it"

"Found what?" Athena came closer, fascinated by the story which unveiled a history of her kind that she had never heard before.

"The thirteenth tribe. Earth" Casey smiled at her " We followed some of the more obscure parts of the human scripture and found the hidden path left behind by the thirteenth tribe ages ago. When we arrived, the people of earth embraced us. They were the parents we never had. For years, we thought our quest was over - that we finally reached home. Unfortunatly we were wrong. Things happened - bad things... but that isn't what's imprtant right now. We wanted to share our good fortune with our brothers and sisters - we traveled back to our home planet with great excitement, we wanted to tell our brothers of what we found, but when we came back we found that we were already too late. Their anger and hatred was already too deep. They had already started implementing their plan for the complete destruction of the human race"

"Why didn't you stop them?"

"We couldn't" Casey's voice was so full of sadness that the Admiral found himself starting to believe her. She was either telling the truth of she was one hell of an actor.

"You see when we left out home world - well, let's just say it wasn't on the best of terms. We had no centurions with us, only one resurrection ship and no means of creating more humanoid bodies. You see for us, downloading isn't a given. Only few of us get the privilege. Most times when we die - we simply die. We were outnumbered and outgunned. We didn't know what to do. We prayed for guidance. Finally we realized our path. We couldn't prevent the holocaust but we could make sure that the location of earth remained hidden and to guide what remained of the population of the twelve colonies to join their brothers"

There were a few moments of silence while the Admiral and Athena thought about what they'd just heard. Finally Adama got up from his seat and spoke "It's a nice story but we have no reason to believe anything you say"

"He started leaving the room when Casey spoke again "Admiral, you said you have no reason to believe me, that nothing I tell you will make you believe me - so how about something I give you?"

She reached up with her cuffed hands and took of a necklace from around her neck, one that had been hidden under her clothes. She reached it out to Adama and waited until her came closer and allowed her to drop it into his open palm.

When he opened his hand and looked his eyes began to water and he had to choke a sob that threatened to escape his throat. In the palm of his hand lay something he thought had been lost forever. It was Kara's and Zak's would be wedding ring


	4. The Threat

Thank you to everyone who sent a review! I really appreciate your input – I have to admit that I'm somewhat unsatisfied with the name of this story… you may have noticed that I already changed it once – but I'm still not sure about it – if any of you have any suggestions I'd really like to hear it.

This chapter is a little longer then the others – I just wanted to get all the preliminary stuff out of the way so I can pick up the pace and get the story moving!

Please send more review! I'm not above begging!!!!

* * *

Chapter 4

* * *

She was standing on the balcony at the old Opera house in Kobol again. She was dressed in that red suit – the one that used to be her favorite before the end of the worlds happened. She looked up and saw Athena standing on the balcony across from her.

Then she heard the giggle – the sound of a child's laughter so full of happiness and joy that it nearly brought tears to her eyes. A look passed between her and Athena and she realized instantly that the child was Hera. Both she and Athena started running in search of the child – she caught glimpses of her – disappearing down the hall or around a corner, going down the stairs. She ran faster, desperate to reach the girl and protect her…

Laura Roslin woke up with a start at the sound of the phone ringing in her cabin. She was so tiered she must have dozed off for a moment as she waited for reports to come in from Galactica explaining the raised alert level of the fleet. She reached her hand from the sofa and picked it up – still trying to chase the weird dream out of her mind. On the other end of the line – Tory's voice sounded almost frantic.

* * *

On Galactica, Athena woke up in her quarters and tried to stifle a scream. She franticly ran to Hera's crib and checked on her daughter. The dream had been so vivid, so powerful, she could feel the blood quickening in her veins at the thought of it.

She let out a sigh of relief as she saw her daughter sleeping peacefully. Once she calmed down enough she pulled her uniforms back on and headed for the hanger deck – there was no more chance for sleep anyway – she might as well get some work done.

* * *

"She's really alive?" Adama's voice trembled as he sat back down in front of Casey, his hand still clutching the ring so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"She's alive and well" Casey reached out and tenderly placed her hand over his on the table. She was delighted when he didn't jerk his hand away.

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door as Colonel Tigh stepped in the room "The President's shuttle just arrived. She's expecting to see you in your quarters immediately. Seems like she heard we let this thing on board" he pointed at Casey "and she isn't too happy about it"

The Admiral sighed deeply and rose from his seat, turning to leave "Stay outside this door and guard her. Don't let anyone through that door."

He walked out with Athena close behind leaving Colonel Tigh alone with Casey. The Colonel took one look at her, sneered, and turned to leave. He stopped dead in his tracks when she started humming softly. It was the song - the one that had been playing in his mind for the past few days, the one that led him to that storage room in the hanger deck.

He turned to her, his eyes wide with shock - but she just smiled at him.

"Stop it!" he barked

"Recognize the tune Saul?" she smirked at him, using his first name instead of his rank or title.

"Don't know what the frak you're talking about" he tried to cover "the damn humming just gets on my nerves"

He turned to leave, intent on putting some distance between him and the fraking cylon. He may be a cylon - but that didn't mean he was one of them, or that he was ever going to be. He was an officer in the colonial fleet - and for him, that was the end of it.

"You're not a cylon Saul" he heard her say softly and the words caused him to stop yet again, his hand on the door handle. Just hearing the words spoken out laud sent waves of relief coursing through his body.

"You're not a cylon" she repeated when he finally turned and faced her again "You and the other three - you're human, one hundred percent, completely human."

"The song… we felt… we knew…" he stammered

"It doesn't mean you're a cylon." She smiled at him again, trying to put him at ease "The thing is… you're connected… to us that is. It's kind of hard to explain. It has to do with your genetic make up and ancestry…it's all very complicated. Kara calls it the cylon psychic network. Long story short - you're psychically linked to us. The song you've been hearing, the feelings and the confusion - it's because you've been called."

"Called?" he was still having a hard time grasping everything she was telling him.

"You all have a role to play. Much like Kara - you all have a destiny."

"A destiny?" He couldn't help but sneer at her

She smiled back at him, seemingly not affected by the deprecating tone of his voice "I could give you a long lecture, quote obscure biblical references, start a tedious explanation about prophesies and the path to earth and so on - but when it comes down to it, it all depends on what you'd rather believe. Would you rather believe that you are a cylon - a traitor to humanity - or that you have a destiny that will lead your people to salvation?"

He gave her one more glare and turned on his heals. As he walked out of the room he could hear the prisoner humming that damned tune again and he slammed the door behind his a little more forcefully that he should have.

* * *

"What the hell is going on here?" President Roslin didn't even bother to wait for the hatch to the Admiral's quarter to close behind her before she started admonishing him.

"Laura…" her started trying to placate her but she raised her hand and continued her rant, her anger causing her to pace his room at an erratic pace.

"Did you or did you not just allow a known cylon to come on board the galactica?"

"Yes I did" he admitted, realizing that at the state of mind she was in - the best way to deal with her was to simply weather the storm and answer truthfully until she ran out of steam

"You put the entire fleet in danger! You let a cylon dock on galactica - our only line of defense against the cylons if they track us down again. Who knows what this thing is planning or what kind of sabotage it will do…"

The admiral's answer was cut short when the hatch to his quarters burst open and Lee stormed in without knocking of waiting to be invited in.

"Is it true dad?" He started asking even before he was fully inside the room "Is she back? Is Kara alive?"

"Even in their current state on estrangement, it tore the Admiral's heart to see his son so visibly distraught. He knew he had to choose his words carefully.

"The cylon who came aboard seems to claim that Kara is indeed alive - we don't know much beyond that at this point"

"Where is she? Are we going to go get her?" Lee kept firing question at a rapid pace.

"We don't know yet…" The Admiral started explaining but was quickly cut off when Lee came at him again.

"What do you mean you don't know? It's Kara Dad! We can't just leave her out there!"

"Enough!" the admiral voice on a harsh and commanding tone "That would be a military decision Lee!" His son's name coming out as an insult, emphasizing the lack of military rank or title "A military you are no longer part of"

Lee winced at the words slightly but didn't relent "Then I want to talk to her! I want to talk to the cylon myself!"

"No!"

"Why not?"

The Admiral thought for a minute about telling his son the truth - telling him he was trying to protect him, telling him that he didn't want the cylon to have a chance at fraking with Lee's mind with memories of Kara in case it all turned out to be some elaborate hoax. He knew his son wouldn't be able to survive loosing Kara all over again if that happened. Instead he put on his best commanding voice and said firmly "You are not allowed to go anywhere near that cylon until I decide otherwise! Civilians do not interrogate enemy prisoners or military assets! You will go back to your quarters and wait until the president" He pointed at Roslin who had been silent up to this point and Lee actually looked startled for a moment, as if it was the first time he was actually aware of her presence. "Until the president and I discuss the matter and reach a decision!"

For a long moment the two Adama's just glared at each other until Lee's shoulders slumped and he turned and left the room.

After a long moment of silence Laura gave a deep sigh and place a reassuring hand on Bill's shoulder "Maybe we should have let him stay, allow him to be part of the discussion"

"And why would we do that?"

"For a lot of reasons but most of all because we both know that if the is any sort of plan made by Lt. Thrace - Lee is absolutely going to be a part of it!"

* * *

Laura Roslin walked into the interrogation room slowly, taking the time to size the cylon in from of her. At the admiral's orders Helo stepped in with her and stood guard at the hatch.

"Admiral Adama says that I should take the time to talk to you before ordering you to be let out of an airlock" Roslin stated looking the cylon straight in the eye.

Casey chuckled, not the least bit concerned "You didn't come here because the Admiral told you to"

"Really?" Roslin sat in front of her "Then why did I come here?"

"Because you're the dying leader and you want to know what I know about finding earth" Casey leaned in closer and spoke softly. "And the five shall know the face of the five and together they shall pass through the 12 gates and the Key shall be revealed and Earth shall be found. All this has happened before and all this shall happen again"

Laura recognized the verse of scripture immediately. There was a long silence as the two women stared at each other, interrupted only by the faint sound of the ship com declaring the personnel of Galactica prepare themselves for an FTL jump.

Suddenly, a look of alarm came over Casey's face. In the entire time she'd been on Galactica, and even before, when all he could hear was just her voice over the wireless, Helo had never seen Casey show signs of alarm or concern. The change caused a pit in his stomach.

"Lt. Agathon! I need to speak to the Admiral! I need to speak to him now!"

"The Admiral is busy!" Roslin replied harshly instead

"Helo, listen to me! You have to let me see the Admiral! Otherwise we're all dead!" Casey braced her cuffed hands against the table until her knuckles turned white

He took a look at the president as she sent a death glare his way and had no choice but to shake his head "The Admiral is in CIC right now - you're not allowed anywhere near there!"

Suddenly, with speed the likes of which Helo has never seen before, Casey got up to her feet and shoved the table away, sending the president scrambling towards the bulkhead. She was on him a split of a second later and sent a kick to his midsection that had him doubled over in pain. The next minute she was out the hatch catching the two guards by surprise and sending them both to the floor with well aimed kick.

He got to his feet and started giving chase. He could hear the president behind him picking up the phone and alerting the marines. She was running through the corridors with amazing speed and if he hadn't know already where she was headed he might have lost her. Every once in a while a crew member would get in her way and be shoved, pushed, or literally thrown in the air to make way for her mad dash.

She barely managed to set one foot inside CIC before 20 marines had automatic rifles pointed at her head.

"Admiral, you have to listen to me" She panted heavily, standing still as the marines surrounded her "You have to cancel the next FTL jump"

"You are a prisoner who broke out of her cell and tried to escape! I'm done listening to you!" The Admiral said harshly "take her back to her cell!"

"Admiral, we've been monitoring your fleet! We managed to calculate you next jumps! That's how I knew how to find you! We've been doing the same with the cylon fleet" She yelled as the marines advanced at her to take her in "Your next jump coincides with the cylons - the entire cylon fleet is going to jump right on top of you and shed you to pieces!"

"She's lying!" Tigh sneered "she's trying to get us to backtrack, so the cylons reach earth before we do!"

"Admiral I'm telling you the truth!" Casey kept yelling even as the marines grabbed hold of her and started pulling her away "Send a raptor! Check it out! If I'm lying - you'll only be delaying the jump by an hour - at most!"

The room was at a standstill - waiting on the Admiral's orders. The silence was almost deafening.

"Tell Racetrack and Crusher to take a raptor and jump to our next coordinates." The Admiral finally gave the order. "Tell them to eyeball the situation and report back!"

It took almost 15 minutes to launch the raptor - the time seemed like forever in the stressed confines of CIC.

Finally, Racetrack's voice came over the wireless "Raptor 272, at requested coordinates"

"Lt. Sitrep!" The Admiral nearly barked into the wireless

"There's nothing here Sir" Racetrack replied "just clear empty space!"

"Ok Racetrack, come one home!"

The Admiral shot a glare at Casey and gave the marines a nod, indicating for them to escort her back to the brig.

"FRAK ME!" Racetrack's yell sounding over the wireless nearly made everyone jump out of their skin "Galactica Actual, 4 cylon basestars and one resurrection ship just jump in right on top of us! I don't think they spotted us yet!"

"Raptor 272, jump back immediately! I repeat - avoid detection! Do not engage unless fired upon!" The Admiral ordered.

It seemed like the entire room was holding it's breath until the finally saw the green blip on the DRADIS screen indicating that the raptor has returned safely.


	5. The mission

Hello everyone!

Sorry for the delay in updating – to make up for it I'm posting another long chapter – this will be the last chapter to take place on Galactica (although we will return to check on the often) before our heroes leave to find earth… hope you like it and please please please send me your reviews! I really need to know that people are reading this and enjoying it – or hating it even – as long as I get some kind of reaction I'm good!

Also, as you can tell I changed the name of the story yet again! I promise this will be the last time! I finally found a name that I like and means to me what I want it to mean – the name is taken from a song by Sarah Mclachlan called "Drifting"

Hope you enjoy this chapter and again PLEASE SEND REVIEWS!

* * *

**Chapter 5**

* * *

Athena leaned against the bulkhead of the office suite on colonial one next to her husband and carefully looked around. They had all been summoned here on a moment's notice and Athena had to admit – they made a somewhat weird bunch. But it was the groupings within the group that seemed even weirder. 

First there were Tigh and that presidential aide – Tory something – huddles in the corner engaged in quiet conversation that seemed serious and tense. Tigh's dislike of all things presidential and political (especially after his little tenure as self appointed king of the fleet) wasn't much of a secret and Tory didn't seem like the kind of woman who would normally enjoy the company of the often drunk aging colonel – which made their choice of conversation partners seem so odd. Then there was chief Tyrol – the usually easy-going and friendly-to-all deck hand was sitting alone, looking lost and shell shocked, not talking to anyone and nervously twisting the wedding ring on his hand. The last pairing was by far the oddest one – Lee Adama and Sam Anders were both leaning against the bulkhead on the other end of the room, shoulder to shoulder. They were not speaking but old rivalries were seemingly forgotten as the two of them seemed almost comfortable next to each other. The two of them were even wearing similar expressions – a mixture of pain, sadness and anxiousness as the stood quietly and waited with all the cheerfulness of men heading for their own executions.

The president walked in and for a moment as their eyes locked, Athena flashed back to the dream she had merely hours ago and a strange sensation passed through her. It was like some sort of realization was gnawing at the back of her mind, one that she couldn't put her finger on. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind as the president started speaking.

"The seven of you have been selected for a special mission and I'm sure each on of you had an idea as to why you've been chosen" Roslin threw a look towards Tory and her aide seemed to shrink under her glare, She still wasn't sure how she felt about Casey's latest, and somewhat hazy, revelation that the cylons had some kind of connection to four of their people – especially someone who had been so close to her for such a long time. "I wish I could say this mission is voluntary as I'm to understand it has the potential of becoming quite dangerous, but apparently each of you is necessary for the success of the mission and the finding of earth"

"Wait" Tyrol rose from his seat and spoke his first words since they've all been assembled here "Just the seven of us are going? What about the rest of the fleet? What about my family?"

"The plan is for the fleet to jump to the Ionian Nebula as planned. The seven of you will departure then and the fleet will stay there and wait for your sign –according to the information the cylon has given us there is a location inside the Nebula that has conditions very similar to those at Ranger station – the estimate is that the fleet will be safe there for the time being. Once you find the location of earth the fleet will join you"

The meeting went on for a few more minutes – They all had questions and the president did her best to answer them. Athena and Lee were the only ones that remained silent throughout the entire thing – although, she guessed, it was for very different reasons.

When the president finally dismissed them everyone turned to leave but Helo paused at the door when something suddenly occurred to him "Wait a minute! What about Hera? If both me and Sharon are going on this mission what's going to happen to our daughter?"

"Obviously a child can't go with you on this mission, Hera will remain with the fleet on Galactica – I'm sure we can find someone to look after her for a while" the president answered calmly, knowing that the subject at hand could best be described as "touchy"

"And we're just supposed to trust you?" Helo said angrily, confirming Roslin's apprehensions about the topic "You tried to take her away from us before! You told us she was dead! And now we're supposed to leave her to you?"

Flashes of the dream she had earlier that day came rushing through Athena's mind who had been silent up to this point and she placed a calming hand on her husbands arm. Her eyes locked with his and conveyed a silent request. After a moment he complied and left the room – leaving her alone with the president.

"I assure you Athena – your daughter will be safe" Roslin's tone was quiet and sad. Her mind flashed back to the conversation she just had with the cylon Casey.

_"Hera will be left behind, she will be in danger and you will be forced to make a choice not long from now…" the cylon told her in her usual cryptic manner "your choice will decide the fate of your people, and all I can tell you is that Hera will play a large part either in the destruction or salvation of humanity…"_

_"I don't understand – either she's good or she's bad… how can she be part of both destruction and salvation of humanity?"_

_"I can't answer that for you" Casey insisted "But you'll have your answer soon… and then the choice regarding her fate will be yours to make – I do hope you make the right one"_

"I believe you" the reply seemed to surprise Roslin and Athena had to smile a bit "I saw you…in a dream…I think you know what I'm talking about. You were rushing to Hera – trying to save her from something…"

"How could you know!?..." The notion that both she and the cylon had been sharing the same dream regarding the half-breed child was so shocking – Laura Roslin had no idea what to make of this latest revelation.

"I don't know what's going on" Athena admitted "But I think the answers lie wherever this Casey wants to take us. I'm going to take a leap of faith and trust you Laura, not as a president, but as a human being. Just like Admiral Adama took a leap of faith when he trusted me. I'm going to leave my daughter behind and I trust you to make sure that she's going to be waiting for me when I get back"

"You have my word Lt. I'll protect Hera with my life"

For a moment the two of them just looked at each other – letting the newfound understanding between them sink in. When Roslin offered her had to shake Athena took it, then she turned away and left without saying another word.

* * *

**BASESTAR OBSERVATION DECK**

**Commanding Basestar**

**Cylon Fleet – en-route to Ionian Nebula**

"Here you are" Boomer said as she entered and saw Leoben sitting standing there, gazing out at the blanket of stars that spread around them. She came in and took a stand next to him "The ship hybrid estimates that one more jump, two at the most, and we'll be at the Ionian Nebula"

"A lot of good that's going to get us" He grumbled, still gazing outside "We have no clue as to where to go next"

"God will send us an answer" Her voice held confidence

"You know that there's a chance the humans will already be there when we arrive"

"If they are – we'll simply destroy them." She shrugged but then turned and looked at him quizzically "Is it the way to earth you're worried about – or are you concerned that destroying them all means also killing Starbuck?" when he didn't reply she let out a frustrated sigh "God! What's with you and that woman? You know that the others are concerned about you, right? They're saying that your obsession with her is beginning to resemble three's obsession with the faces of the final five – they're taking about having to box you…"

"I'm not obsessed" he finally showed the anger and frustration she knew he had been holding back "I just know, I know it more certainly than anything I've ever known before – I know that she is important!"

"Well she certainly likes to think so…" Boomer mumbled, drawing on her memories from the time she spent as one of Galactica's pilots, as one of Starbucks friends.

"This is serious Eight!" he admonished her "she may be the one who can lead us to earth…"

"You've been reading way too many human prophecies!" she admonished him back "Which one is she supposed to be? The dying leader? The Sentinel? The keeper of the key? What?"

"I don't know, the knowledge is there…it's like it buried somewhere in the back of my mind…I just can't seem to bring it to the surface" he sighed in frustration and rubbed the tiredness out of his eyes. He tried so hard, to figure things out, to get to the truth that he knew was somewhere within his grasp. The months he spent with Kara on New Caprica was as much for his own benefit as for her – he hoped, prayed even, that being in proximity to her, that gaining her trust and maybe even her love, would grant him access to the secret he knew was hidden in her very existence. But no such epiphany ever occurred.

He was lost in his thoughts again and soon Boomer left him – shaking her head in disgust as she went.

* * *

**Galactica – Living Quarters**

"I'm not going!"

"What are you talking about?" Cally asked her husband in confusion, trying to balance Nicky on her lap.

"This mission, to find earth, I'm not going to go" Tyrol insisted. His mind was still swimming from the events of the past day - thinking he was a cylon and ending up in a room with Tigh, Anders and that presidential aide woman. Then the cylon arriving, hearing that Starbuck was alive, Tigh cornering him in the hall telling him that he wasn't a cylon after all. Everything was a jumble in his head.

"The Admiral gave you an order Galen" Cally insisted, still looking confused.

He wanted to tell her - wanted to tell her everything. She was his wife, the mother of his child, the one who saved him at a time in his life when he thought all he would ever have in life is pain loneliness - but how do you explain to your wife that you're somehow psychically connected to the cylons? How could he explain it to her when he didn't even understand it himself?

He leaned in and took Nicky away from her arms, cradling the child briefly before placing him in his crib gently "I don't want to leave you and Nicky" he said softly watching his son drifting off to sleep.

Cally came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist "You are a good man Galen" She whispered in his ear and he turned around and wrapped her in his arms as she continued talking "Remember before we had Nicky? When we decided we wanted our son to grow up somewhere he could run and play and breath fresh air?"

"Yeah, and look how great that turned out for us" He said bitterly

"Earth is not New Caprica" She cupped his face in her hands and forced him to look at her "You are a good man Galen, you're a good father. This might be a chance - a chance to give your son the life he always wanted for him…"

He nodded and watched as she climbed into bed and looked at him, expecting him to join her. He turned off the lights and joined her but stayed awake long after she drifted off - He was going to find Earth apparently - whether he liked it or not.

* * *

"So you're leaving? Just like that?" Baltar was pacing the floor of his cell, throwing what could only be described as a hissy fit. Lee wasn't impressed. "I was on trial for my life here! Remember?" 

"This is about finding earth…" Lee tried explaining for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"No it's not! This isn't about earth! This is about Lt. Thrace!" Baltar cut him off, his voice getting an octave higher in his excitement "I hear the scuttlebutt, I know what's going on! Someone tells you she's back and you just go running back to her…"

"How about we all relax here for a moment?" Lampkin stood up to intervene. When Baltar backed away in disgust Lampkin turned to Lee "Mr Adama, may I have a word with you?"

They stepped outside the brig ad Lee decided going on the offensive was better than sitting and enduring another lecture about neglecting one's duties. He could still hear Baltar raving and ranting in his cell as he turned and got into Lampkin's face.

"Look I'm not as dumb as you think I am! The only reason you ever wanted me on the defense team is because I'm the Admiral's son! I mean, what better way to rattle the cage then have the judge's son play devil's advocate? Don't try to play the righteous card - you were using me! That's it!"

"Then why did you go along with it?" To his credit - Lampkin didn't bother trying to deny the allegations and remained clam, even letting a small smile to form on his lips.

"Because I needed an excuse" Lee sighed "I needed to go against the current. I needed to go with something that I believe in even though no one else did! I needed to not play it safe for once in my life!"

Lampkin chuckled "I guess we were using each other"

Lee had to chuckle back at the accuracy of the observation "I guess we both got what we wanted!"

For a few moments neither of them said anything, occasionally chuckling. Finally, Lampkin extended his hand for Lee to shake.

"Good luck Commander Adama - I hope you find Earth! For all of our sakes!"

* * *

**Remote location of space**

**Commanding Battleship – The BCC "Myrmidon"**

**Command Bridge**

Admiral Marcus Alexander stood in front of the hologram screen and surveyed the images of the vast empty space in front of him. He was tall and broad shouldered, his grey-blue eyes piercing and sharp, his black hair a little longer than military protocol would normally allow. Only in his thirties, he was the youngest Admiral in the fleet and his often lax approach to military protocol and etiquette was just barely tolerated by his superiors because of his continued excellence in battle and the unbelievable popularity he seemed to be generating from his crew. Even though, his superiors guarded approach was the main reason why he often received assignments that involved isolation in the farthest parts of the galaxy – better to keep him away from the rest of the military and to avoid the potential of him becoming a bad influence – seemed to be the common approach among the leaders of the fleet.

With a simple touch on the consul to his right he magnified and moved the images to his likings. The bridge was quiet this time of night – with only essential personnel at their post and no emergency or immanent danger to deal with his crew were sticking to their posts, dealing with paperwork and their day to day activities, trying to pass the time until the shift ends. He didn't turn around when he sensed her coming in and taking a stand slightly behind him – he knew she was there just as she knew he sensed her presence.

"Any word from our friend? What does she call herself these days? Casey?" He finally asked, still not turning to meet her eyes.

"Contact has been made, everything should be going according to plan" she replied, coming closer and gazing at the images on the hologram screen alongside him.

"It will still take them a long time to arrive" he let a tinge of the frustration he was feeling creep into his voice.

"Do you need to be reminded of the plan again admiral?" Her tone was bordering on teasing.

"Careful Lieutenant" he warned but a small smile was starting to form on his lips "that mouth of yours will get you in a lot of trouble one day"

"Funny, that's what they usually say about you" she retorted, keeping her face neutral. After a pause she continued "They have to travel the path - it's the only way our plan will work"

"I know, I know" he cut her off before she could go into the entire long and tedious explanation that he already had memorized by heart "But I'm not a patient man Lieutenant"

"Yes" She smirked "I heard that somewhere too"

He dismissed her with a gesture of his hand and she turned on her heels and left the bridge as he went back to concentrate on his star charts.


	6. Battle's begining

**Chapter 6**

* * *

The mission began according to plan. The fleet jumped into the Ionian Nebula and the seven of them, along with the cylon Casey, boarded a raptor and left Galactica. They watched as the fleet moved further into the cloud then made several short distance jumps and headed to a nearby planet. Lee sat in the back of the raptor and tried to calm himself. He knew they had a mission to conduct - finding earth, saving what remained of their civilizations - but all he could think of was that he was going to see Kara again. He tried to push the thought out of his mind and busy himself by looking at the other occupants of the raptor. No one was talking, no one was making eye contact - if the fate of humanity lay on the shoulders of the occupants of the raptor - humanity was in for a nasty fight.

Helo piloted the raptor according to Casey's instruction and entered the atmosphere of the small planet. The raptor landed in the middle of a clearing in the forest. From his place in the pilot's seat, Helo could see what looked like a makeshift camp set up on the edge of the clearing between the trees. As the ramp was lowered the seven of them got up and started following Casey out of the raptor. He could see several people - cylons actually - making their way to them.

"Where's Starbuck?" Tyrol asked while jumping off the ramp to land on solid ground.

"She's not here" Casey replied off handedly, not knowing the reaction her words would elicit.

As if on cue, four guns were drawn, cocked and aimed. Colonel Tigh, Anders and Helo were aiming their guns at the cylons advancing on them from the tree line, while Lee aimed his gun right at Casey's head.

Casey turned back to face them, alarmed, and raised her hand in the air in a gesture of surrender "Gentlemen please! There's no need for guns! Look around you - no one but you is armed! We mean you no harm!"

"You told us you would take us to meet Kara" Lee accused through greeted teeth. He took one step closer and placed the barrel of his gun against Casey's temple.

"Yes, I did. However - I never said you would be seeing her today!" Casey was keeping clam but Helo could see the some fear in her eyes.

After a moment's hesitation Lee removed his gun and the others reluctantly followed suit. Lee glanced behind him at the others - the look that passed between them confirmed what they were all thinking - they had no choice but to play along for the moment until they could figure out what was going on.

Once the guns were lowered Casey signaled the other cylons to approach. There were four of them - the four remaining cylon models that no one has seen before - Helo could almost feel the vibration of excitement that radiated from his wife at the sight of them.

There were two women - one tall and lanky with long blond hair that reached below her shoulders and the other one shorter and more solidly built with short and curly dark red hair. The two men were following closely behind them - one slender and tall with hair that was the shade of platinum that bordered on white, the other toned and muscular with dark skin and a head full of dark hair.

"Let me introduce you" Casey said as the others joined them "This is Nora" Casey pointed at the blond woman and Helo's mind flashed back to the picture of Duck and Nora that was still up on the memorial wall on Galactica.

"This one is Kat" Casey pointed at one of the curly red headed cylon and Helo knew instantly that this model was named after the hotshot, loud mouthed pilot that used to be one of Kara's first nuggets.

"This guy here is Billy" Casey continued the introductions by pointing at the young blond man and Helo could see Tory visibly flinch at the mention of her dead predecessor's name.

Casey paused for a moment before introducing the last member of the group and stole a worried glance at Lee, a glance that had Helo on edge with trepidation as she introduced the black haired man "And this final guy is Zack!"

* * *

Admiral Adama slowly made his way to his quarters after the end of his shift in CIC. He tried to keep his expression neutral as not to alarm any of the crew members that were passing by him in the corridor, but behind the stony mask, his emotions were in turmoil. It had been more then 24 hours now since the expodition to find earth left Galactica and there was still no word. He knew he shouldn't expect the to be one - the cylon explained very clearly and in no uncertain terms that finding earth would be a lengthy process - one that would take weeks, if not months. The commander in him understood the mission parameters perfectly, but the father in him, the part of him that felt like a father to all those under his command - was getting anxious.

He was shaken out of his thoughts when Dee fell in step beside him "I need you to sign these reports Sir!" She handed him several papers on a clipboard.

"I thought your shift ended Petty officer Duella!?" He commented as he started glancing over the reports and signing them while they continued heading in the direction of his quarters.

"It is Sir. We're a little short staffed now that the expedition left. I volunteered to pitch in a little longer before hitting my rack" Her tone was strained as she mentioned the mission and for the first time it occurred to the Admiral that in all the excitement of the past few days - finding out Kara was alive and preparing the mission to find earth - he had forgotten to think about how this latest development might affect his son's estranged wife. He knew how rough things had been for her over the last few months - Lee and Kara's affair (Yes, he'd known about it - there really wasn't much that happened on his ship without his knowing), Lee coming back to her, then having to watch him mourn over the other woman and throwing his military career away on someone like Baltar, only to have him fly off in search of that other woman when it turned out that news about her death had been premature. For the first time he realized the kind of emotional roller coaster Dee had been going through for the last couple of months and his heart went out to her.

He was about to try and offer words of comfort, even though he had no idea what he could possibly say to make things better, when the speakers came to life and a ship-wide announcement came over them "Admiral Adama to CIC, Admiral Adama to CIC" Next, the claxtons began blaring and the next announcement was called to set condition one throughout the fleet.

He handed the clipboard back to Dee and gave her an apologetic smile before turning away and coming back the way her came at a brisk pace. He didn't need to look back to know that Dee had turned back and was making her way to CIC with him. End of shift or no end of shift – if there was an emergency it was all hand on deck and no amount of personal turmoil would stand in the way of that. He had to admit – it filled him with some sense of pride to see her stick so firmly to her duties even at a time when any other person would curl up to a ball in the corner and whimper from the sheer amount of personal stress on their shoulders.

"Commander Hoshi Sitrep!" He ordered his temporary XO as soon as he sat foot inside CIC.

"Sir, the cylon fleet just jumped within range of the Nebula" Hoshi explained quickly "They don't seem to have spotted us and I didn't want to launch the alert fighters as to not draw anymore attention to ourselves, but I've set condition one throughout the fleet just in case"

"Good call Commander" Adama nodded "Have the civilian ships spin their FTL drives and be ready to jump to emergency coordination, but we need to hold this position for as long as possible. Lt. Gaeta - what size of fleet are we talking about?"

"I'm counting three Basestars and one vessel that appears to be a resurrection ship" Gaeta replied after checking the DRADIS screen "But the readings are all frakked up because of the radiation from the Nebula so there's no way of being one hundred percent sure"

"Racetrack saw 5 basestars when she encountered the cylon fleet at our last coordinates" Adama's brow frowned with worry as he tried to make sense of the information, but his train of thought was interrupted by a frantic call from Lt. Gaeta

"Sir, they spotted us! They're launching raiders!"

"Sorry Sir, it looks like we won't be able to hold this position after all" Commander Hoshi said gravely and Adama simply nodded - mission of no mission - he couldn't risk the entire fleet waiting for word that might take weeks or months to come.

"Launch the vipers" He gave the order "But tell them not to stray too far away - stay in the cloud! It the Ion storm really affects the skin-jobs, it might do something for the raiders too"

Commander Hoshi relayed the orders and a few moments later the CIC was filled with the chatter of viper pilots in the air prepping for battle.

"Galactica Actual this is Hot Dog, remaining inside the cloud, multiple raiders approaching. There's more than a hundred of them"

"Sir" Lt Gaeta drew his attention "One of the Basestars is approaching - they're heading straight for us. Closing in fast"

"Galactica Actual this is Hot dog. Raiders are inside the cloud! Negative on affect from the cloud! I repeat the cloud seems to have no affect on them! Request permission to engage the enemy"

"Permission granted!" The admiral acknowledged, sighing in defeat. There was no way that Galactica could hold off three Basestars from shredding the fleet to pieces "Commander Hoshi, how long before all civilian ships can jump away?"

"At least 5 minutes Sir and we need to get clear of the Ionian cloud in order to complete the jump safely"

Adama nodded and continued listening to chatter from the vipers engaged in battle

"Hot Dog I've got a raider on my tale - a little help please?"

"Narcho nice shot!"

"Galactica this is Hammerhead I'm hit! Returning to base!"

"Basestar is still approaching" Gaeta added to the mix

"Joker I've got two raiders getting way too close to the Rising Star! Going for pursuit could use some backup"

"I'm right on your wing Skulls"

Suddenly one voice rang above the rest "Galactica Actual, this is Hot Dog… the raiders are…Oh gods! One raider just crashed into another raider!" His voice suddenly sounded excited "Galactica you have to see this! The cloud has an affect after all! The raiders are starting to shut down! They're loosing control!"

"Sir! The Basestar is loosing power too, they're drifting with no apparent vector!" Lt. Gaeta's voice sounded as excited as Hot Dog's "They appear to be dead in space!"

The whole CIC erupted in cheers. People were clapping, patting each other on the back, over the coms Adam could head the viper pilots whooping in joy.

But the celebrations were short lived.

"Sir, the other Basestars are still out there" Gaeta sounded almost guilty for having to spoil the moment of victory "They're firing up their main guns"

"Take us about, put Galactica between them and the fleet! Prepare main battery to fire!" Adama didn't loose a moment as he gave the orders

"Sir! A third basestar just jumped in behind the other two!" Gaeta's voice sounded almost frantic "And the resurrection ship just dropped off DRADIS!"

"What do you mean dropped off?"

"She didn't jump away Sir! I'm detecting major explosion originating from its last location!"

"Hot Dog! Can you give us an eyeball on the Basestars?" Adama instructed, fearing that the tree Basetars that began the attack were just the beginning and that the rest of the cylon fleet was beginning to jump in and join the fight.

"Galactica this is Hot Dog!" the response came a split second later "The third Basestar is firing on the other two! The resurrection ship is shred to pieces"

"What the frak is going on out there?" Commander Hoshi expressed what they were all thinking

"Galactica! One of the two basestars is failing! I can see explosions all over the haul!"

"Sir, the remaining basestar is turning away! I'm detecting an FTL charge! They're jumping away!"

"Admiral" Dee's calm voice called for his attention "The remaining basestar is asking to open a com channel! They're hailing us!"

"Open a channel! Put it on speaker!" he ordered, still unsure of what exactly just happened

"Admiral Adama!" A female voice came over the com a moment later "My name is Persephone, you've met one of my friends, Casey, a few days ago! Kara Thrace sends her regards! She asked me to tell you that the part where she saves your collective asses never gets old!"

For the first time since the attack began Adama's face erupted in a wide grin - that sure sounded like his Kara would say.

* * *

Consciousness came like a hot rod inserted into the brain that was almost instantly removed but had a very lingering affect - a mixture of extreme blinding pain and instant relief. For a moment he just allowed the sensations and memories to wash over him - willing the pain to go away as he lay submerged in the liquid that had been nourishing his new humanoid body for years. After a while though, instincts took over, and the need to breath became a necessity. He surfaced for the liquid with a gasp and opened his eyes - squinting against the light and trying to orient himself to his new surroundings.

"It's alright…you'll be fine" He heard brother Cavil say beside him as he struggled to push more oxygen into his lungs.

"What happened? He managed to chock out between coughs.

"You tell me…" Brother Cavil's soothing voice helped him get his bearings and replay back the last of his memories.

"There was another ship… it came out of nowhere… it fired on us…" The memories from the last moments of the attack on the human's fleet flashed through his mind in rapid succession "It was another Basestar!"

"How could that be?" Brother Cavil sounded as shocked as he felt. Around them, he could see the other models gathering around, becoming interested in the conversation that was taking place between them.

Suddenly realization hit, the revelation spreading warmth in him and filling him with calmness like a true religious revelation, like facing the one God himself.

"The final five!" he gasped "They've returned!"

"That's not possible!" Brother Cavil shook his head adamantly.

"The final five have been gone for years!" Dorel affirmed, sounding appalled at the very thought of it.

"And even if they were to return…" Six, always the voice of practicality, elaborated "They have no part in this…"

"You're all wrong" He announced, rising from his downloading tank, unabashed by his own nakedness as the sense of purpose filled him down to his very core, his newfound faith of the knowledge that was finally within his grasp undeterred by their skepticism. He finally knew his purpose, had been awakened to his one true goal - he had to lead his brothers to see the same light he had seen "We have to re-activate the Threes. Gather all the information we have on the human's faith and their prophecies and I want all the data we collected on the colonial fleet just before we jumped in to attack them and of the attack itself"

"What is your plan?" Boomer, newly downloaded and wrapped in a towel asked him from her place beside her downloading tank

"The five are helping the humans, the humans are heading for earth…" He explained calmly "The two are connected - and I intend to find out how!"

* * *

**

* * *

A/N: Hey everyone**

Sorry it took so long to update! I was sick and then I had work and then… well, let's just say life caught up with me and I was a little bit swamped for a while.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter – I know the part with the names of the new cylons was just a little bit cheesy – but I couldn't help myself!

This chapter is a little bit more action-packed but things are going to get a lot more twisted and mysterious over the next few chapters – so consider yourselves warned!

As always – PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE send me your reviews! I really need to know that people are reading and enjoying this and if you have any ideas or requests send them over too – I might like them and incorporate them into the story!


	7. The first Gate

**A/N: well, here is the next chapter...it's not that long but I hope you enjoy it - please please send me reviews if you like this story and even if you don't - I'm not getting a lot of feedback here and I'm starting to think no one is actually reading this story! **

**As always - don't own them! son't sue!**

* * *

Chapter 7

* * *

All seven of them gathered around her tank and waited with no small amount of trepidation as Brother Cavil inserted the activation chip back to its allotted location. The downloading tank became illuminated again, and several tense moments later she emerged from the liquid with a gasp.

Leoben nodded for the others to step back a little as they complied but he could feel their dissatisfaction even as they did so. For dozens of years their shared existence was based on the fragile concept of joint-decision-making, on the knowledge that the collective came above all and no one was singled out as a leader among them. His newfound revelation and confidence, combined in no small amount with his attitude, were creating cracks in the concept that stood at the very core of their existence – and many of them, if not all of them, were less then comfortable with the idea. He didn't care, though. He finally knew his role in god's great plan – and if he had to drag the others along kicking and screaming in order for them to see the light – well, that's exactly what he intended to do!

He crouched by her tank and softly caressed her wet hair, pushing it off her face and whispering soft calming words until she relaxed and her breathing evened. Her eyes had a somewhat glazed look to them and there was a slight curve of a soft and dreamy smile on her lips. She acknowledged neither him nor anyone else around her and simply lay there, letting the protein liquid caress her body.

"Three…" he tried getting her attention using her designated model number but it didn't seem to have any affect.

"D'Anna" He tried again, using her human name, and this time she seemed to move her gaze to him, even though the glazed look in her eyes made it hard for him to know if she was really seeing him at all.

"Tell me what you saw" he urged her, keeping the gentle tone in his voice even though all he wanted was to shake her forcefully out of her daze until she gave him the answers he so desperately wanted. "Tell me what you saw at the temple of the five!"

"It was beautiful!" She whispered "There was light! So much light! So pure…It was like touching god himself!"

"She's obviously been driven to insanity" Simon said, his voice contemptuous. He was the scientist among them, and even though his faith in the one true god was just as strong as that of the others, he had little patience for this kind of fortune-telling mumbo-jumbo.

Leoben saw several of the others nodding in agreement as D'Anna kept rambling on about pretty lights and the face of god, sounding every bit the raving lunatic the all pegged her to be, and weighed his options. There was always the possibility of trying to extract the information from the Three's data chip without having to go to the trouble of interacting with the humanoid model itself, although there was no telling how much of it was damaged and how much they could actually extract that way.

Figuring there was no other choice, he was almost ready to give up, but when he moved to leave her side D'Anna suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm. For a split second he tried to yank his arm away, but she held on with amazing force, and when he looked back at her face – her eyes seemed to regain their focus and look straight at him.

"5 figures, dressed in light" She said urgently and his heart clenched at hearing her words "5 figures, 10 faces. Like yin and yang, right and wrong, but not different, two sides of the same coin! She was there, she was one of them, she was ahead of them, and they'll all follow her!"

He didn't need her to explain who she was referring to. Everything he'd known and hadn't been able to explain since the day they exacted god's vengeance on the colonials was confirmed with those mere few words.

* * *

She was slowly dying – and she knew it. She could feel her organs starting to operate more slowly, her heart, her lungs, and every muscle in her body seemed to be stuck on permanent slo-mo. Soon, they will simply come to a halt.

They moved her to the infirmary soon after she started showing symptoms. She had to give them credit for that. She knew they didn't like her, didn't care about her beyond the information she could give them on their enemies. But, still, they took her to the infirmary and made sure their doctor took care of her. It was very… human of them to do that.

"Shshsh…" she heard his voice next to her and she could feel his hand touching her forehead softly, moving away the strands of hair that clung to the sweat on her forehead.

"It will be better soon… you'll see…"

"Gaius…" she managed to chock out, knowing he was merely a figment of her imagination but not caring. She longed so much to really have him by her side right now, to tell him how much she loved him one last time before she died. And it would be the last time. There was no chance for downloading, no chance of waking up again when the pain of your death is just a distant, although present, memory – this time, it was the real kind of death and she was, if she had to admit, quite scared.

In her haze she didn't notice the woman passing by her bed, stopping to give her a quizzical look and stopping a nurse to ask what was wrong with her. She didn't notice until the woman came closer, and in a completely unexpected gesture, gently took her hand.

She turned her head to the woman, wondering who it was that wanted to give her comfort in her last hours, and was surprised to see Laura Roslin by her side, still holding her hand and taking a seat – apparently intending on a long stay.

A look in the other woman's eyes revealed a silent understanding. They have been seeing each other in dreams for several days now, as both their health deteriorated, and somehow, a bond was formed. They were linked somehow – and somehow that gave her some comfort.

"I told you…" she heard his voice beside her "It will get better…"

* * *

They spent the night at the makeshift camp at Casey's suggestion. She said that they should all rest before beginning the real journey the next day – which was pretty ironic, since spending the night in a camp filled with cylons meant that not one of them slept a wink all night.

They headed out at first light. The 7 of them joined by Casey and the 4 cylons they first met upon landing – or maybe they were different ones, there was really no of telling.

Tori found the whole situation more that surreal – here they were, 7 colonials, some of them among the most important people in the fleet, being dragged around on the surface of an unknown planet with no idea where they were going or what they were supposed to do when they got there.

After clearing the forest Casey and the other cylons led them to a path that seemed to lead up, high into the mountains that surrounded them. They climbed for another hour - and none of them said a word the entire journey. At first Tory found it odd that with this many alpha type personalities in the group no one demanded to know where they were headed - that they all seemed so content to just being led. But a closer look at the grim faces around her told her that neither one of them was exactly happy with the situation, nor did they have a choice in the matter as could be indicated by the careful looks that passed between them. So they continued in silence, the only sound being Casey's occasional directions and Tigh's labored breathing.

Finally, he arrived at what appeared to be their destination.

"Looks familiar?" Casey turned back to look at them with a hint of glee and pride in her voice

"It looks…" Tyrol stammered.

"It looks exactly like the tomb of Athena on Kobol" Helo finished the sentence for him, looking at the doorway with what could only be labeled as awe.

"What is this place?" Tori asked. Feeling slightly in owe herself. She wasn't there the first time around, when President Roslin went down to Kobol, opened the tomb of Athena and found herself standing on Earth.

"This is the first gate" Casey explained "The first marker on the path to earth"

"Remind me again, since you already know where earth is, why do we need the marker at all?" Tigh grouched but Casey didn't take the bait and just continued to smile kindly at him.

Tyrol, Lee and Sam pushed the rock entrance open and they all walked in hesitantly. The chamber inside was dark and the air was stuffy as if the chamber hadn't been opened in ages. At first glance Tori saw nothing remarkable about it - No broken statues like in the stories President Roslin told her, no alters - just an empty room. It was only when she noticed Chief Tyrol standing by the wall, seemingly mesmerized by it, that she realized that the chamber wasn't really empty.

In fact - the stone walls were covered with writings.

"What is that?" She asked "I recognize the letters but not the words…"

"It's an old dialect" Tyrol replied in a hushed tone, as if careful not to disturb the quietness of the chamber "I can read some of it, some is too far gone to make out…"

"There's something else here…" Lee informed them from the far end of the chamber and they all turned around and saw him pointing at a large chest that stood on a little shelf in the wall.

"What is all this?" Tigh asked in bewilderment "A box, and some antique writings on the wall? That's what's gonna get us to earth?"

But, again, Casey ignored him and instead turned her attention to Tyrol "Tell us the story Chief! You know it, even if you can't figure out the writings - you know the story!"

"The walls tell the story of Anesidora, the first woman molded by the gods and adorned with their gifts. She was the punishment sent to earth by the gods. You may know her by another name - the myth often calls her Pandora."

"Pandora? You mean the girl sent to earth with a box full of misery and disease?" Sam searched his brain for more details and for the first time in his life found himself wishing he'd paid more attention to his mother's religious teachings.

"Pandora was sent to earth by the gods with a box" Tyrol started reciting the ancient myth "She was told that the box contained unimaginable gifts for humanity and was warned not to open it. But she got curious, as the gods knew she would, and didn't heed the warnings. When she opened the box, misery, disease, pain and suffering were let out and unleashed on humanity"

As he spoke, Tyrol made his was over to the box and touched it, letting his fingers dance over the delicate carvings on its surface. With a deep breath he moved to unlock the latch and open it.

"Wow, wow! Hold on there chief!" Sam quickly rushed to stop him before he could complete his actions "Lets assume for a moment that the myth is true, that it's more than just a cautionary tale meant to teach people not to ask so many question or stick their noses where they don't belong - Lets say for a moment that this is the box from which all of humanities ailments came from - are we really so sure we wanna open that thing?"

"We have to" The chief replied calmly and didn't wait for the others to ask him before rushing to explain "The pain and suffering and disease did come out of this box, but that wasn't Pandora's crime. The gods intended for her to open the box all along. Her true crime was that she got scared and closed the box before the gift, the only true gift, came out. According to the myth, only one thing remained in the box - Hope!"

And with that he reached out and opened the lid - and everything disappeared in a flash of bright, white light.

* * *

**A/N: the Pandora myth is of course an old greek myth, the details were researched carefully from several sources but as is the way with ancient myths - there are several versions which differ slightly on some of the details - I chose the one that best suited my story!**

Reviews are welcome!


	8. Friend or foe?

**Finally! An update!**

**I'm sorry it's taken so long for this chapter to be posted I kind of got caught up in… well, life! Work, I was sick, friend's birthday, friend's wedding and so on and so on … I just didn't have time! This chapter is not very "action packed" if you know what I mean – it's more of a preparation for the next chapter which should be up next week!**

**One more thing – I don't want to seem greedy or anything but I really wish I would be getting more reviews about this! There are more than 20 people who took the time to put this story on their favorites or to put an alert for it – and yet – I'm getting like, no reviews lately! Please take the time to write a couple of words and tell me what you think about this story! It's really important and necessary in order to keep the creative juices flowing!**

* * *

The first thing Helo noted as he opened his eyes again was that they were all still in that cave. Part of him was disappointed - after all the tales he heard from the tomb of Athena he half expected to find himself somewhere completely different - maybe even earth. But then again - he never really expected things to be so simple. They never were these days.

He turned his head to look at his wife, needing reassurance that she was alright, but the moment he moved his head he was hit with a splitting headache that caused him to flinch and groan. Lee seemed to suffer the same after-effects he was experiencing as he heard the other man let out a groan of his own. The cylon members of the group, including Athena, seemed to have been unaffected.

The other four were a completely different story.

Tori and Tyrol seemed dazed, as if waking up from a dream. Tigh was staggering on his feet and Sam had a dumb fumbled expression on his face that would have been damn right comical in any other situation.

"What just happened?" Lee winced as he spoke, as if the sound of his own voice was causing him more pain.

Zak, one of the other cylons looked at Sam, Tyrol, Tori and Tigh with a small smile and answered "They just got the location of the next marker on the path to earth."

* * *

GALACTICA - CONFERENCE ROOM

Lt. Hoshi stood at attention and saluted as the Admiral and the President came into the conference room, and the other officers were quick to follow suite. He put the at ease with an offhanded salute of his own and guided Laura to a seat, taking the one right next to her and indicating Lt. Hoshi to begin relaying his report.

"Sir, we've made contact with the friendly Cylon basestar several times in the past hour. Naturally, both we and they would like to arrange for a face to face meeting. However, there are some technical difficulties"

"Like what?" Laura asked and Bill couldn't help but notice how her voice cracked slightly even on that short sentence. She looked pale and tiered and the Admiral could feel his heart clench knowing that it was the cancer, slowly eating away at her body.

"Well, Madam President, the problem, to put it simply, is location." Lt. Gaeta jumped in "The cylons obviously can't come to us because the ionic cloud would kill them like it did the raiders and the other basestars. The only way for them to come aboard is for Galactica to move away from the cloud and leave the fleet unprotected."

"That's not an option" The Admiral said firmly, even though he knew his officers had already reached the same conclusion.

"The only option we can think of right now is to send a party over to the basestar - which actually might help us solve our other problem as well" Gaeta explained and nodded at the president, as if indicating to something the two of them already discussed

"Our other problem?" Adama asked, slightly confused.

"The prisoner" Laura explained quietly "She's dying. We need to get her off Galactica and away from the Ionic cloud as soon as we can"

The Admiral said nothing but she could practically feel the anger bubbling under the surface and braced herself for the inevitable scolding. Within seconds the officers in the room were wither politely dismissed or had the common sense to make a quick escape on their own accord. Once the two of them were once again alone, Adama started pacing circles around her, his eyes studying the floor intently as he walked. She took a seat and waited. She knew this game. She was good at this game. She played it often enough to know that the only way to loose this game was to open her mouth too quickly and start trying to explain. If she'd done that she'd be coming into the argument from a defensive position – and Adama would be able to push her into a corner. It very well may be that Bill Adama had become one of her closest friends since the worlds ended – and at times maybe even a little more than a friend – but they were still the leaders of the fleet, they still often found themselves on the opposite sides of the fence, and if there was one thing she learned from him was that a little bit of strategy never hurt anyone.

Finally, he spoke.

"You saw the cylon when you were in life-station to see Doc Cottle" it was more of a statement then a question.

"She's in a lot of pain"

"I could care less about her pain" he snapped back "Since when do we care about the well being of our enemy?"

"Bill, look around you" she said softly "Athena is one of your most trusted officers, Kara is working with the cylons to find earth, you just authorized a mission led by a cylon with your son on the personnel list, our lives had just been saved by a cylon basestar and this model saved Hera and surrendered of her own free will. Can you still tell the difference between friend and foe so clearly?"

* * *

Sam sat by the fire and tried to keep warm. All around him their rag tag expedition group was fast asleep, exhausted after the events of the day – but he couldn't sleep. He could hear Tigh's loud snoring from the tent a few feet to his left and Tyrol restlessly tossing around after the younger man drew the short straw and was forced to bunk with the grumpy XO. He heard the rustle of leafs behind him and a moment later Casey joined him by the fire.

"You should be sleeping, it's going to be another long day tomorrow" she said by way of greeting.

He didn't reply and for the next fem minutes the two of them simply sat there, placing their hands next to the fire, watching as the orange flames ate their way through the wood.

"So what happened today?" he finally asked "Those things we saw… what were they? Some kind of mass hallucination? Did you see it too? Did Lee and Helo see it?"

"It wasn't a hallucination, but you don't need me to tell you that – you already know that that. Those images you saw weren't new – they were already in your mind. That's why as strange as they were, they also felt very familiar… they were already in you mind…"

He frowned at her "How exactly does that work?"

"It's kind of like a genetic memory. The five of you are descendents of the original five priests, the five priests that came together to lay down this path to begin with. The information is already inside you. A few dozen generations ago you might not have needed the markers at all. As it is, these markers are simply unzipping the memories already buried inside of you – bit by bit"

"What about the cylons? Or Lee and Helo? Can they see it too?"

"No they didn't. They have a different purpose here"

"I bet they do" he mumbled, thinking about Lee Adama.

He didn't mean to sound bitter but he knew he did and he hated himself for it. He was never a jealous man – never saw a point to it, really. Back in the days of his Pyramid glory girls were throwing themselves at him by the dozens and there was no need to get jealous or possessive. Even after he met Kara, even after they married, he never had any misguided notions about owning her – partly because he just wasn't that king of guy and mostly because Kara just wasn't that kind of girl. She'd kick his ass all the way from her back to Caprica if he even entertained a thought to that affect let along be dumb enough to express it of act upon it. Even after Kara and Lee's little affair – he never held a grudge. And truth be told, after Kara's death, he and Lee kind of reached an unspoken understanding – each one of them acknowledging the other man's right to be in pain over the loss of someone they both truly loved.

But it still stung just a little bit when Lee was called for this mission. Sam was here because he was told he had a role to play, a destiny. Lee was here simply because Kara wanted him to be there. And Sam couldn't help but wonder – if the roles had been reversed, if he had been the one without a destiny to justify his presence – would Kara ask for him simply because she wanted him to be there?

Then again, what right did he really have to be jealous when living proof )and only one of several) of just how quickly he got over his wife's death was sleeping in a tent not three feet away from where he was sitting? I didn't take more than two weeks for him to find someone new to share his bed with, several others to be exact. He could rationalize it by saying he was grieving, drowning his sorrow in a warm body… but he couldn't lie to himself. More importantly, he couldn't lie to Kara, especially with his latest frakk buddy in such close proximity.

"Sam?"

Casey's voice brought him out of his reverie and he blinked at her in surprise, having completely forgotten that she was even there "I'm sorry, did you ask me something?"

"I wanted to know if you could explain to me the difference between a foul and legal tackle"

He gapped at her and it actually took him a moment to realize she was asking him a question about the rules of Pyramid. Her question seemed so out of place, so out of the blue, considering their situation and everything that happened, that for a split second he had trouble understanding how such a simple and mundane question could even be asked.

She must have read the confusion in his eyes because she rushed to explain "Kara has been telling us a lot about the game, trying to explain it to us, but it's still very confusing…"

For the first time in what felt like years – he laughed. A real, good, from-the-pit-of-your-stomach and the-depth-of-your-heart, healthy kind of laugh.

When he stopped laughing he started explaining Pyramid to her, telling her stories, describing great games. She asked questions, he answered, they laughed, they made jokes, before either of them noticed – the sun was starting to come up on the horizon.

* * *

Racetrack piloted the raptor carefully past the huge prongs of the basestar and headed for the ship's main structure, following the direction she'd been given and landing the raptor safely on the unfamiliar deck.

As soon as the raptor touched down the marine company onboard rose to their feet, locking and loading their weapons.

"There's no one in sight Sir" Racetrack reported from the cockpit before getting up from her seat and heading to the back to join them "It looks deserted"

The admiral nodded and made his way down the lowered ramp, allowing the marines to spread out and take defensive positions around both him and the raptor.

They didn't have to wait long. A few minutes passed and then a lone figure appeared from one of the entrances leading to the deck.

"Admiral Adama" She greeted, stepping out of the shadows and coming to stand before them "I must say…I was both surprised and delighted to hear that you were coming in person. Welcome to the Underworld."

Adama took a careful look at the woman in front of him. Her hair was blond and reached just above her shoulders. She was dressed in civilian cloths - a pair of black cargo pants and a zipped up leather jacket. Even though she was standing in front of 8 men who had their guns aimed directly at her - she seemed to be completely at ease, and even had a small smile on her face.

"I came in person." He nodded "And I brought a present"

He nodded back to Racetrack who was still in the raptor, and she slowly made her way down the ramp - holding Hera in her arms and pointing her sidearm at Caprica who was gingerly walking a few steps ahead of her.


	9. Lies and war

Sorry it took so long to update even though I'm not sure anyone is even reading this anymore! I'm going to keep writing anyway I'm just wishing I'd get some feedback on it!

Anyway this is kind of a transition chapter the story is built with transition chapters in between the chapters with the "markers" to earth in them and I promise: Kara is about to make an appearance very soon!

As always, I don't own them, but if I promise not to brake them can I play with them for a bit?

* * *

Chapter 9

* * *

They ate breakfast in silence then made their way back to the raptor. After sending a long distance communication to Galactica it took Helo and Tyrol another hour to plot a course to their next destination using the raptor's navigational system against the information in Tyrol's head. Lee and Tigh tried making a case for going back to Galactia citing that it would be easier and more accurate to use the more advanced mapping system on board the ship, but both Kat and Casey insisted that there was no time - though neither elaborated on the reasons for this urgency.

The entire group then, twelve people in total, crammed into the back of the raptor which was way to small to hold such a large number of people, and held on as the small craft broke the planet's atmosphere.

"So we have twelve more of these gates or markers to go through?" Tori finally broke the silence when it became too much for her to bear.

"Ten actually" Kat replied "the first marker was the tomb of Athena on Kobol, this was the second marker. Two down, ten to go…"

* * *

He watched as several cylons appeared to take Caprica and Hera and when the marines beside him tensed and cocked their weapons in reaction to their appearance, he quietly told them to stand down and allow them be taken.

"What are you going to do with them?" He asked Persephone who was still standing motionless in front of him.

"We'll make number six here comfortable so she can recuperate…under guard of course. I'll have someone stay with Hera for a while until we figure out what to do next…"

She turned her back to them and started heading out then stopped and looked over her shoulder, indicating he should follow her. After a second of internal debate he nodded to the marines to keep their position and secure the raptor and followed Persephone out of the hanger bay.

They walked into a well lit corridor with smooth floors and sleek walls that looked more like marble than metal. As he passed through them, it almost seemed like they were slightly changing their color, turning a shade darker or a shade paler as he walked by them, like they were reacting to his presence. Even though the halls were deserted and the metallic walls should have made the ship seem cold it was fairly warm and even seemed inviting.

"There doesn't seem to be a lot of crew on this vessel" he stated as they kept heading to an unknown location.

"When you have the ability to hook yourself directly to the ship's mainframe there isn't a need for a multitude of crew members" She replied with a smile just as the hallway opened into a large room which appeared to be the command center of the ship.

"Hook into the ship's mainframe?" He asked. He still had no idea what exactly was the purpose of the visit and figured he'd get as much information as he could just in case "I thought all cylon ships had a hybrid to control them"

"The underworld doesn't have a hybrid" Persephone replied with a hint of pride in her voice "A hybrid mind is linked to what we call 'the great cylon consciousness', there is no way to separate it and no way to make sure a particular hybrid would be committed to our cause and not that of our seven siblings…"

"Isn't a hybrid a living thing? What happens when it's separated from the basestar?"

"It dies" She replied simply and when he frowned she gave a sad smile and elaborated "Sacrifices had to be made…"

"So what am I doing here?" he finally decided to get to the point

"We need your help in retrieving those raiders floating aimlessly in that ionic cloud, and the basestar too if that's at all possible"

"You want to retrieve these ships?" he said incredulously. Out of all the things he expected from this meeting - this was the last thing on his mind

"Our ship has canons but we don't have any raiders, those raiders out there could be reprogrammed and used to our advantage."

He regarded her with a frown trying to get to the bottom of her meaning

"Are you planning on going to war with the entire cylon fleet?"

"Eventually…"

She gave him a cryptic smile and in spite of his reluctance to believe her, and the voice in his head that told him to remain skeptical, he could feel excitement rise within him. He couldn't help himself. He was a soldier and even though he knew the decision to flee when the cylons first attacked was the right one, it still haunted him. He was just aching for a good battle that would allow him to fight back.

* * *

She entered the cell with a sure step even though every muscle in her tiered and disease ravaged body protested. The pain was getting to be too much – she had her good days and her bad days but lately the bad days were beginning to become truly horrendous, and to come with an alarming frequency.

Still, she was the president of what was left of the colonies and her job required that she stand up and hold herself with an air of authority and dignity. Especially now, when facing this particular man.

"Dr. Baltar, you asked to see me" She said in an even tone, not trying to hide her annoyance.

"Is it true?" his voice was frantic, his expression terrified "I heard the guards talking, you have to tell me if it's true… I have to know…."

"Dr. Baltar" she cut him off before he could get on with his ramblings "It would be helpful if I knew what exactly you were talking about…"

"Is she dead?" he almost shouted at her and for the first time she realized that it was a different kind of fear that was in his eyes this time. She'd seen him afraid before – being the weasel that he was there wasn't much Gaius Baltar wasn't terrified of – but it had always been fear born out of the need for self preservation. It had always been fear for himself. Now, for the first time, he was afraid for someone else's life and the emotions were written clearly on his face.

"Is who dead?" She decided to play dumb, buying herself some time to figure out what to say. This man was standing trial for treason and it was long decided that the amount of information he would be privy too had to be seriously limited.

"I'm begging you… please… the guards said she was gone…you have to tell me, I have to know…" He was begging now, and after all that she and others endured as a result of this man's action she found herself enjoying it immensely. In a single moment she made her decision.

"I'm sorry Dr. Baltar. The number six model had a violent reaction to the ionic cloud of the nebula…she was in a lot of pain. We finally had to do something…." She paused for affect "she's gone"

She turned on her heels and left the room quickly turning around slightly at the door to look back at the prisoner. She saw as he crumpled to the floor, his arms embracing his body, and started wailing and crying uncontrollably. For a moment the sight actually tugged at the corners of her heart but she pushed it aside telling herself that this had been the right decision. She was still standing there, trying to ease her conscience when a messenger came running from CIC to tell her that they received a message from the expedition and that Admiral Adama was requesting her over the com.


	10. The second gate

**Hey everyone. Sorry it took forever to update this story (and all my other stories for that matter) but I've been swamped at work. Well, I just got laid off - so now I have plenty of time to update my stories. Another reason it took so long to update was because I realized I made a mistake with the last chapter I posted - and that mistake threw off my entire timeline. I mixed up the gates - and then the rest of the story I planned just didn't seem to fit and make sense. **

**So, in order to fix it so that I could keep going with this story - here is a new chapter 10 - totally re-edited and re-written.**

**Aslo - I've been debating whether to detail all the gates one by one or skip a few in order to shorten the story and move the action along... what do you think? Are you interested in the mythology or should I just get to the point so to speak?**

**Chapter 10: The second gate**

As soon as the raptor broke the planet's atmosphere Helo could tell they was a problem. He checked the instruments again to make sure before calling back to the others "Guys, I think we might have a little situation here…"

They crammed into the cockpit as much as they could, peering through the front window to look at the surface unfolding underneath them as far as the eye can see. There was no sign of land, the instruments showed no land mass detectable - the whole planet seemed to be covered in a vast ocean.

"Maybe we got the coordinates wrong, maybe we're on the wrong planet" Tori tried to be helpful

"The coordinates are meant to be signs from god" Athena explained just as Casey opened her mouth to say the same thing "they can't be wrong…"

"Well then, I hope you packed your scuba gear…" Tigh grumbled in dissatisfaction and headed back to the rear to sit down and skulk.

"It has to be here…" Casey mumbled, mostly to herself. Helo, who was the closest to her, took a long look at her face and what he saw there gave him pause. For the first time - he saw doubt and uncertainty cross her green eyes. But the moment of uncertainty was short and a second later she collected herself again "There must be some small land mass on this planet… maybe too small for the raptor's instruments to pick up. We'll have to look for ourselves - 4 people in the cockpit, the others will take the windows in the rear compartment - if anyone sees anything we'll fly over and take a look."

"Eyeballing the entire planet? That's your plan?" Tigh snarled from the rear "It could take days…"

Casey turned back to him with a smile, her cocky attitude returned "I'm sorry Colonel Tigh, are we keeping you from some other important plans?"

* * *

Admiral Adama stood in CIC and listened to the chatter of the pilots and crewmembers over the wireless. He sensed more then saw, when Dee joined him and came to stand by his side.

"How are the preparations going Petty officer Duella?" He asked without turning to look at her

"We're making excellent time Sir. Several dozen raiders have already been recovered and delivered to the base-star without a problem" Dee reported "Cally reports that 5 more will be recovered and delivered within the hour."

He nodded and continued listening to the wireless. After a moment realized that she hadn't left his side and turned to look at her expectantly knowing that there was something on her mind.

"Are you sure we're doing the right thing Sir?" Dee asked in a hushed tone once he gave her permission to speak freely "Aren't we just arming the enemy by giving them the raiders? They are cylons after all…"

"So is Athena, so was Casey, they both saved us quite a few times" Adama explained recalling his conversation with President Roslin and having thought about the subject himself quit a few times since he first heard Persephone's offer "I think we're at a point where the lines between ally and enemy are getting a little less clear."

"Sir" Lt. Hoshy interrupted their quiet conversation "The underground is on the wirless - they say it's urgent"

The Admiral quickly went over and grabbed the phone hearing Persephone on the other end of the line "Admiral Adama I'm afraid we have to cut our visit to this lovely little nebula short. One of our scouts reports that the seven are headed our way in great numbers and I'm afraid this time we won't even be able to use the element of surprise."

"We'll head for the next coordinates. The ones provided by the members of the expedition"

"Extremely bad idea Admiral, the last thing we need is to draw the attention of the seven to their whereabouts" Persephone countered "I'm sending over a list of jump coordinates to be executed one after the other…"

"Where are we headed?"

"Earth"

* * *

It took several hours of extensive search but they finally found it. A small island in the middle of the vast ocean, too small for the instruments to pick up on, but large enough to be of some significance. It took some considerable effort and several tries to manage landing the raptor safely without ending up in the water.

Lee half expected another cave but realized as soon as they approached the island that there wouldn't be one - instead, as soon as they stepped out of the raptor they found a small alter in the middle of the island half buried in the soft sand. When they stepped closer he realized the entire alter was built out of seashells and fish bones, each one of them hand carved with extreme delicacy and precision.

Tyrol, the resident expert of mythology and all things ancient, stepped closer prepared to translate any writings that may be on the alter – but found none. Instead there was only two symbols, repeatedly carved into the shells and bones.

"There are symbols here, but I don't recognize them" He informed the others. He touched the alter, moving away the sand to try and find any other symbols or writings. The moment he did so – the sound of thunder could be heard clearly in the distance.

"Well, we better find something quick" Tigh, ever the optimist, grumbled. "Cause it looks like there's a storm coming"

"I know those symbols" Tori suddenly took interest and came closer, passing her fingers across the delicate grooves. "I think I saw them before, back when I was a child"

"What is it?" Lee prompted, just as another thunder echoed, this time much closer to them. He could see the storm clouds gathering just over the horizon, looking black an ominous.

"It's an ancient representation of the gods, or more accurately, two of the gods. Poseidon and Zeus." Tori told him, still tracing the patterns with her finger tips, as if transfixed by the images.

A movement at the corner of his eye caught his attention and he looked to the side to see Sam getting closer and closer to the edge of the water. "Hey Sam, better get away from the water that storm is getting closer and if a lightning hits while you're in the water…." But Sam didn't seem to hear him. Instead, he kept getting closer, until he was standing almost knee high in the water. Lee walked over and repeated his warning , louder this time. Finally, Sam turned to look at him, his face a mask of clam and serenity.

"I think we're supposed to go into the water" Sam told him, now almost shouting to be heard over the sound of the wind and thunder. The others, having heard his yelling came and joined Lee at the edge of the water "Think about it – Poseidon and Zeus, water and lightning… it's the only thing that makes sense"

"Makes sense?" Tigh sounded almost outraged "If you're wrong about this – we're all going to be electrocuted to death"

Sam seemed to be thinking of this for a moment, and Lee couldn't help but notice how he glanced at Casey for reassurance before shrugging "I guess you're just gonna have to take it on faith"

The familiar flash of painfully blinding white light came over them all and Lee doubled over in pain as he felt his whole body pulsing with it. When he took a deep breath trying to push some air into his lungs, the air tasted somehow different in his mouth - moldy and sulfuric as if something was burning nearby. When he opened his eyes he realized why. He was no longer standing on the shores of the small island overlooking that wide blue ocean - instead he was standing in the middle of another cave with torches casting light and shadows on the walls around him.

* * *

**Remote location of space**

**Commanding Battleship – The BCC "Myrmidon"**

**Admiral Quarters **

Marcus sat at his desk, going over the reports of the day. The hour was late, but he was anything but tiered. The Myrmidon had been staying in place for the past two weeks, simply waiting and watching. The constant state of tension and anticipation was starting to get to the crew and everyone was edgy and agitated, including himself. Several small fights began erupting among the lower ranks. It was nothing that couldn't be handled with a few court martials and some strong talking to, but it was still weighing heavily on his mind.

He didn't bother lifting his head when the hatch to his quarters opened behind him and she entered. Technically, she wasn't supposed to enter the Admiral's private quarters without being announced and invited. Failure to do so would normally result in a court martial, but that never seemed to prevent her from simply walking in.

"I've heard from our newly minted queen of the underworld, the plan had to be changed, the fleet is on his way here as we speak" she said casually, idly picking up items from his shelf, examining them, and placing them back in their place.

He looked up at her, with an amused smirk on his face "Casey is not going to like that"

"Well" she shrugged "Casey isn't here, and by the time she hears about it – it won't matter anymore"

He considered it for a moment, trying to see if this change in the original plan could cause any strategic repercussions that should be taken into account, then shrugged and looked back down at the report in his hands, trying to indicate the end to the conversation.

She kept idly walking around behind him, just as he knew she would. For a few minutes he attempted to return to his work, to ignore her. But he was acutely aware to her presence. After a few minutes, she came by and perched herself on the edge of his desk, making it impossible to even pretend to ignore her any longer. Then, she reached out and ran her fingers through his hair. She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his, softly. When he didn't respond she simply smiled and proceeded to slowly and seductively unbutton the buttons of his shirt.

He leaned back and looked at her as she went, taking a deep breath to prepare himself. It was a game he played with himself whenever she came to him. Seeing just how long he could hold off, how long he could stay still before the desire to touch her overcame him. After all, he knew it was wrong, and not just because she was his subordinate. And yet, for some reason, he simply couldn't resist her.

This time he managed to remain still until she finished unbuttoning his shirt. Then he simply couldn't hold back anymore. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him, pressing his lips against hers and feeling her body pressed against his bare chest.

* * *

As soon as the human members of the group managed to catch their breath, Casey and the other cylons led the way out of the cave. The landscape that greated them stood in stark contrast to the tropical island and blue oceans they left behind only minutes ago. Instead, before them lay a vast desert – yellow sand dunes and large rocks with no trees or green vegetation anywhere in sight.

"What the hell just happened?" Tigh asked, his words punctuated by coughs as he struggled to adjust to the suddenly scorching hot air.

"We've been transported" The cylon named Kat explained flatly "We're on another planet"

"What about our raptor? All our gear?" Lee demanded angrily

"We wont be needing them anymore" Casey said curtly without so much as glancing in their direction, her gaze fixed on the horizon "We need to get going"

* * *

**Cylon Basestar**

The decision was made together as decisions have always been made among their people. But he had no illusions. He knew they were more then a little reluctant. In fact, as brother Cavil and boomer made sure to inform him, most of them were simply indulging him. They were just waiting for his failure so they would be proven right and this whole mess could be put behind them once and for all. He was on a very short leash, and he was painfully aware of it.

They jumped back to the nebula where their last encounter with the human fleet took place. The others objected, thinking it strategically unwise to go back to the same location where they had lost in battle merely days ago. However, when they arrived at the nebula – the human fleet was no where to be seen.

"You were right" One of the six's came up to him "we reviewed the date from our scout raiders taken just before our attack of the human fleet. There was a raptor headed for a nearby planet"

"It could be routine, looking for water, algae… whatever" Boomer still remained unconvinced, however, his aid came from the most unlikely source.

"There is a story about a path, a path that leads to the thirteen tribe" brother Cavil suddenly spoke "the story is considered fiction by most theologists, the scrolls themselves were never found so most people assumed it was nothing more then a story, but there are several slight mentions of this path and the scrolls in other books. Especially in the book of Pythia."

"The humans are headed for that path" Leoben concluded

"Even so" Boomer insisted, although he could see she was slightly deterred by brother Cavil's sudden change of heart "The expedition on the ground will be followed by the fleet in space. It will be much safer to follow the fleet at a safe distance then to go and try to travel the path ourselves"

"You can stay and track them from the safety of the basestar if you wish" Leoben announced, his voice filled with the determination and confidence of a man finally proven right. "But I'm going down there to walk the path for myself."

"Boomer is right" Simon, always the pragmatist said coolly "It is much more strategically wise…"

"I don't care" Leoben cut him off before he could even finish his sentence, looking at the others incredulously. They were so close, so close to figuring it all out. For the life of him, he could not understand their reluctance to see it. "The path is important, the five are down there helping the humans walk it – there's a reason for that. And I intend to find it"

* * *

**GALACTICA**

They kept jumping from one location to another for hours using coordinates given to them by Persephone. Stopping only when one of the ships in the fleet needed repairs to their FTL drives. Gaeta did his best to track their movements, get some idea as to where they were headed, but after about a dozen jumps he realized they were pretty mush going in circles – jumping ahead, then doubling back before going ahead again in a different direction.

"we have three minutes before the next jump, Sir" Gaeta reported after informing the Admiral of this troubling new development "Do you still want us to proceed?"

"No" The admiral made a quick decision "Have a raptor prepared and ready for me. I think it's time I go to the basestar and get some answers"

* * *

The sun was high up in the sky and the temperature was rising exponentially with every hour passing by. Sam was having trouble keeping up the pace – his breathing was labored, his cloths were drenched in sweat and he was beginning to feel the effects of sleep deprivation. Worst of all, as the hours [assed by and they were still walking with no apperant destination in sight, he was starting to get frustrated as hell.

He jogged ahead a few steps and came up alongside Casey and Nora who were leading the group "So you wanna fill us in n what's going on here or why we're in such a hurry?"

"this planet is a desert, there's no shade cover for hundreds of miles, and there are two suns – the day is 20 hours long" Nora quickly provided, passing him a water bottle which he excepted gratefully "We need to go through the next gate before you guys die of dehydration or exposure"

"What's the deal with these gates?" Sam persisted. He grabbed Nora's arm forcing her to stop walking. The rest of the group stopped as well, coming to stand in a circle around the cylons, expecting some answers "I mean, you already know where earth is, why can't you just take us there?"

"For that matter, what good is it gonna do us going through these gates if our raptor is back on that other planet? Even if we find earth, there's no way for us to go back to Galactica and let them know" Athena joined in

"There's no need for that" Kat supplied, not seeing the warning glare Casey shot her way "If everything goes according to plan, Galactica and the fleet will begin their own journey to earth in a few days"

"How?" Tigh was the first one who managed to speak while the rest of them just stood there with their mouths hanging open in astonishment.

"One of our own, in a ship… they're being guided to earth in space" Kat completed her explanation, shrugging as if this tidbit of information was of little or no importance

"So what's the point?" Lee asked angrily "Why are we even going through these gates?"

"Because sometimes, the path is just as important as the destination" Casey provided in her usually cryptic manner. When she saw the various angry looks given to her by the group members, she quickly rushed to explain "The gates are in sequence. The uneven gates refer to one or several of the twelve Olympians: Athena, Poseidon, Zeus and so on…"

"The even gates relate to stories" Nora picked up where Casey left off "They're supposed to provide a message"

"With all due respect to the message tin man" Tigh sneered, wiped sweat off his frustration "We're kind of in the middle of a frakking war, so we don't have time for some biblical message"

"Because the message is important" Casey insisted, her voice thick with desperation "Don't you get it? We know where earth is, we can get you there, but what happens then? The seven will simply follow you and destroy the thirteenth tribe the same way they did the twelve colonies"

She paused for a moment letting this grim reality sink in with the rest of them "According to the prophecy, the gates are supposed to provide more then a path to earth – they're supposed to make sure that the future of mankind is secure, that earth is protected"

"How are a bunch of stories supposed to do that?" Helo asked in confusion

Casey took a long pause then simply shrugged "We don't know"

The others gave her looks that ranged from anger to frustration and simple exhaustion, but Sam simply stared at Casey intently. Maybe it was because he was standing closest to her, maybe it was because he'd spent more time then the others talking to her and getting to know her. For whatever reason, he could tell from the look in her eyes that something was wrong. For some reason, he suddenly knew with absolute certainty that Casey was lying.


End file.
